A coalition of marijuana advocates say their lawsuit filed in May deserves credit for forcing the federal government to answer a request to remove marijuana from the list of most-restricted drugs.

The government’s answer, of course, was “No.” But the advocates say at least this will free them to go to an appeals court to directly challenge the government’s claim that marijuana has no medical value.

“Although this superficially looks like a defeat for the medical marijuana community, it simply maintains the status quo”” American for Safe Access Chief Counsel Joe Elford said in a news release this morning. “More importantly, however, we have foiled the government’s strategy of delay and we can now go head-to-head on the merits, that marijuana really does have therapeutic value.”

Elford said his group will appeal the government’s denial of the petition to the Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia as soon as possible.

Americans for Safe Access noted the petition denial was sent to the coalition’s lawyers last Thursday, one day after the Justice Department issued a memo advising the nation’s federal prosecutors that anyone who cultivates, sells or distributes marijuana on a large scale – including local or state officials in jurisdictions with laws allowing the drug’s medical use – could face federal prosecution.

“The federal government is making no bones about its aggressive policy to undermine medical marijuana,” ASA Executive Director Steph Sherer said. “And we’re prepared to take the Obama Administration to court over it.”